Latino Immigrants Face an Uphill Battle to Economic Inclusion

This blog post by Angel Ross was first published on the National Equity Atlas August 9, 2016.

Immigrants have been an integral part of the social, political, and economic fabric of this nation since its inception. But increasingly hostile local, state, and national policies and climates put many immigrants in precarious situations, restricting both their participation and potential, and ultimately hurting the economy as a whole.

In June, we released data on working poverty in the Atlas, and found the number of Latinos working full-time yet still struggling economically has increased steadily over the last three decades. Last week, we added breakdowns on immigrant status to eight Atlas indicators, including working poverty. This new data reveals the significant challenges of working poverty among Latino immigrants and the vast differences within the Latino immigrant and U.S.-born populations. For instance, nationwide Latino immigrants are twice as likely as U.S.-born Latinos to be working poor.

This analysis describes working poverty among Latino immigrants, examines the cities with the worst outcomes on this indicator, and highlights policies to support immigrant integration and ensure economic security.

Employed Latino immigrants have higher poverty rates than U.S.-born Latinos

One in four Latino immigrants between the ages of 25 and 64 is working full-time but has a family income below 200% of the federal poverty level, compared with just 12 percent of U.S.-born Latinos. Mexican immigrants, who account for more than half of all Latino immigrants, have the highest overall rate of working poverty among Latinos at nearly 29 percent followed by Guatemalans (28 percent) and Hondurans (26 percent). 

Multiple factors contribute to these numbers. In addition to lower wages and lower levels of educational attainment on average, another important reason is that immigrants, half of whom are Latino, are less likely to be enrolled in public benefits programs. Poverty is calculated based on family income, which includes earnings as well as sources other than work like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Undocumented people are currently ineligible for many of these programs, but we see lower rates of enrollment even among eligible immigrant families. Increasing enrollment in these programs is one way to ease the burden that many low-income immigrant families face in the U.S.

Many immigrants are also part of mixed status families, which might include authorized immigrants, undocumented immigrants, and U.S. citizens. By 2010, close to a quarter of all children had at least one immigrant parent. But due to the precarious status of undocumented workers and discrimination against Latino immigrants, exploitation and wage theft is rampant.

The high rates of working poverty among working-age Latino immigrants translates into high levels of economic insecurity among Latino children, who are a large and growing segment of our future workforce. Nearly 63 percent of Latinos under 18 years old live below 200 percent of poverty as do two in three Latino children under 5 years old.

Where do Latino immigrants face the biggest barriers?

To better understand the geography of economic insecurity among Latino immigrants, we ranked the 100 largest cities in the U.S. by the rate of working poverty and the median wage among Latino immigrants. Because both citizenship and education are associated with higher earnings, we also looked at the citizenship rate and the percent without a high school diploma.

The cities with the highest levels of working poverty among Latino immigrants—with 38 to 40 percent of their Latino immigrants working poor—included the North Carolina cities of Winston-Salem and Greensboro, along with the Texas cities of Dallas and Irving, followed by Minneapolis, Minnesota. These cities also had lower median wages, lower levels of citizenship, and lower levels of educational attainment than Latino immigrants nationally. The national citizenship rate of all Latino immigrants, for example, is 30 percent and the median wage for full-time workers is $12.70/hour. Yet the citizenship rate among the five cities with the highest levels of working poverty ranged from 11 percent in Winston-Salem and Greensboro to 19 percent in Irving. The median wage ranged from $9.40/hour in Winston-Salem to $10.70/hour in Dallas. Similarly, just under half of Latino immigrants nationally lack a high school diploma, but that number goes as high as 68 percent in Dallas.

The cities with the lowest median wages among Latino immigrants—ranging from just $8.90/hour to $10.20/hour—are Raleigh and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Indianapolis, IN, Plano, TX, and Columbus, OH. Indianapolis has the third lowest median wage but a significantly lower rate of working poverty than other cities. The wage difference in Irving and Plano, Texas show the extent to which labor markets are truly local: the median wage is more than a dollar lower in Plano than in Irving or Dallas even though both are part of the Dallas metropolitan area and educational attainment is higher in Plano. Importantly, Latino immigrants as a whole account for a much smaller share of the total population in Plano than in Irving (7 percent in Plano versus 20 percent in Irving).

Winston-Salem, NC is the only city ranking both in the top five on working poverty and in the bottom five on median wages. With roughly 36,000 Latinos, 20,000 of whom are immigrants, Winston-Salem is home to the largest share of Latinos out of all big cities in North Carolina while neighboring Greensboro has one of the smallest shares of Latinos. Yet in both cities, Latino immigrants face significant barriers to economic inclusion. Four in ten Latino immigrants ages 25 to 64 in Winston-Salem and Greensboro are working poor and half earn less than $9.50/hour in Winston-Salem and $10/hour in Greensboro.

Latino immigrants in the capital of North Carolina at the heart of the Research Triangle (anchored by North Carolina State University, Duke University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) have the lowest median wage for full-time workers of the largest 100 cities and even the largest 150 metropolitan areas in the country. With more than half of Latino immigrants in Raleigh earning less than $9/hour, combining the income of two working parents still doesn’t add up to a living wage for a family of three or four. Latino immigrants are more than three times as likely as U.S.-born Latinos in Raleigh to be working poor.

Interestingly, the median wage of Latino immigrants in Durham, also in the Research Triangle, is nearly $3/hour higher than in Raleigh even though a higher percentage of Latino immigrants in Durham lack a HS diploma and the citizenship rates in both cities are nearly identical. The Latino population also accounts for roughly the same share of the population in both cities, but Durham is majority people of color and Raleigh is majority White. Despite the higher median wage, 29 percent of Latino immigrants in Durham are working poor.

Municipal IDs and the state preemption of local policies benefiting immigrants

The North Carolina economy relies on immigrant labor, but last year Governor Pat McCrory signed a bill banning local governments from establishing “sanctuary cities” and preventing government agencies from accepting local or foreign-issued IDs. The mayor of Greensboro viewed this legislation as targeted towards their local efforts to welcome immigrants with one of the first programs in the South that offered ID cards to immigrants. Law enforcement officials successfully pushed back last year and the law only bars city officials from accepting the ID cards, not police or hospitals.

But this year, new legislation was introduced in the state that would prohibit law enforcement from accepting municipal IDs. This law was passed in spite of evidence that local ID cards help to foster a sense of community among all residents and that law enforcement has actually solved more cases due to increased trust from the undocumented community. This type of state preemption to local authority is a threat to equitable development, but continues to gain momentum across the country, particularly in more conservative states, curbing the ability of local leaders to build inclusive and equitable cities.

Immigrant integration is a moral and economic imperative

In an increasingly hostile political environment, one promising strategy for immigrant integration is increasing naturalization. Not only does naturalization strengthen democracy through voter representation, it also results in economic gains. A recent study by our partners at the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration found that reducing the eligible to naturalize population by half over 5 years is estimated to result in a $75 billion gain to the national economy over ten years. Ending the criminalization of undocumented immigrants by providing a pathway to citizenship and increasing citizenship supports for authorized immigrants has benefits extending far beyond the immigrant population.

In additional to municipal ID cards, other state and local strategies include providing access to health care for undocumented people, as SB 10 did in California, and separating local policing from immigration enforcement as HB 13-1258 did in Colorado. Policies that contribute to the just and fair inclusion of those residents who are often left behind help to create thriving and sustainable communities. To learn more about these policies, visit our immigrant contribution to growth indicator.

To explore data on immigrants for your city, region or state, visit the National Equity Atlas. For more information on the nativity cuts, see our previous blog.

Now on the National Equity Atlas: Nativity Cuts Added to Eight Indicators

From the high-skilled workers who contribute to groundbreaking research and innovation, to day laborers who are the backbone of the economy, immigrants have played a critical role in positioning the U.S. as a world leader on many fronts. In a context of increasing xenophobic sentiment, understanding the economic engine that is the immigrant population in the U.S. and ensuring immigrant integration is an important cultural, political, and economic imperative.

Understanding the characteristics of the local immigrant community is critical to developing effective strategies to help newcomers reach their potential, and that is why we added new nativity breakdowns to eight economic opportunity indicators in the National Equity Atlas: median wage, unemployment, the percentage of workers making $15/hour, disconnected youth, homeownership, educational attainment, poverty, and working poor. With these breakdowns, you can find out how immigrants are faring in the largest 100 cities, largest 150 metros, and all 50 states.

This is a treasure trove of data for you to explore. Below, we describe a few highlights from our own review of this new data.

An overview of the 40 million immigrants in the U.S.

There are 39.8 million immigrants in the U.S., representing 13 percent of the total population. Latinos make up nearly half (47 percent) of the immigrant population followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) who account for another 25 percent. This is a testament to the growing body of Latinos and APIs residing in the U.S. White and Black immigrants follow at 19 and 7 percent respectively.

Latino immigrants made up 3 percent of the total U.S. population in 1990, a figure that doubled to 6 percent by 2012. Latino immigrants represent not only the largest share of immigrants in the U.S., but also the fastest growing. The API immigrant community is the second fastest growing and represent 3 percent of the total U.S. population as of 2012. White immigration has more or less stayed stagnant at 3 percent between 1990 and 2012. Finally, Black immigrants make up the smallest share of the total U.S. population at 1 percent, and are not growing as fast as their Latino and API immigrant counterparts.

Despite their numbers, Latino immigrants face some of the largest barriers to inclusion. For example, they have the lowest median wage at less than $13/hour, which is $5/hour less than U.S.-born Latinos and half the median wage of White immigrants. Furthermore, 57 percent of Latino immigrants are living under 200 percent of poverty, and 25 percent are working poor.

Black and White immigrants report higher levels of education than their U.S.-born counterparts

The new nativity cuts also allow for a within-group analysis that sheds light on how immigrants and U.S.-born people of the same race fare in comparison with one another.

For instance, using education as an example, we can see that higher rates of White and Black immigrants report having a BA or higher when compared with their U.S.-born counterparts. But the opposite is true for Latino and API immigrants: they are less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to have a BA or higher.

We can do a deeper with-in group analysis by looking at the disaggregated ancestry subgroup data by the nativity cuts. For instance, using median wage as an example, immigrant Whites as a whole earn more than U.S. born Whites. Looking at the disaggregated ancestry subgroup data by nativity cuts reveals the following: immigrant Whites of Western European and North American ancestry reported lower median wages than their U.S. born counterparts, but immigrant Whites of Eastern European ancestry reported higher median wages than their U.S. born counterparts. On the other hand, immigrant and U.S. born Whites of Middle Eastern/North African ancestry reported the narrowest gap with respect to the disparity in their reported median wages.

Studies show the significant economic contributions of Latino immigrants

In addition to the rich diversity and culture that immigrants bring to this country, studies show that immigrants continue to play a critical role in driving economic growth in their communities. According to a recent study by economists Dennis Coates and T.H. Gindling, “income growth that tends to accompany Latino population growth in rural counties is even greater where native-born, non-Hispanic populations have otherwise been shrinking”.  

This study shows that immigrant spending in Nebraska generated up to $2.4 billion worth of output, in which the Latino immigrant community contributed up to $1.1 billion. There is a similar story in Iowa of Latino immigrant spending reaching up to $963 million of the estimated $2.5 to $3.2 billion in immigrant spending. Furthermore, the study found that the absence of Latino immigrants in the Omaha-Council Bluffs economy would lead to a 7.8 percent reduction in total production – an amount that translates to $6.5 billion.

Immigrant integration is an economic and moral imperative

Removing barriers to immigrant participation in the economy is key to a thriving and prosperous economy. The California Immigrant Policy Center, based in the state that is home to the largest population of immigrants, has policy priorities for 2016 ranging from access to health care to workers’ rights. Such advocacy efforts are crucial to ensure the socioeconomic inclusion of the immigrant community that has historically played an integral part in the making of a nation.

To access the data for your city, region, or state, go to nationalequityatlas.org, click on Indicators, and in the Equity menu, select one of the eight indicators listed above. On the indicator page, choose the “By nativity” breakdown to see the nativity cuts. Additionally, if you click on the “By ancestry” breakdown, a nativity filter appears below the graphic display that allows you to look at the data for U.S.-born people or immigrants.

National Equity Atlas: July Update

Dear Equity Atlas Users,

It is our goal to make the National Equity Atlas as robust a resource as possible to help you make the case for equity in your community. So we are happy to introduce to you the latest round of Equity Atlas news and updates.
 
New Data on Immigrants
Immigrants have and continue to play an important role in the U.S. economy. Understanding the barriers and opportunities that different groups face is key to moving equitable policies forward. Today, we added nativity cuts to eight economic indicators in the National Equity Atlas that also include data by ancestry: median wages, the percent of workers earning at least $15/hour, unemployment, homeownership, education levels, and disconnected youth as well as our two newest indicators: poverty and working poor. This new breakdown allows users to assess how immigrants and U.S.-born people fare by race/ethnicity and across more detailed racial subgroups.
 
To see the new nativity data in your city/region/state, select one of the eight indicators mentioned above and click on the “By nativity” breakdown. You can also click on the “By ancestry” breakdown, scroll down to the “Nativity” filter, and select either U.S.-born or immigrant.
 
Webinars
We will walk you through how to access this new data Monday August 8, 2016 at 12PM-12:30PM PST. Register here. Video from last month’s webinar exploring the poverty and working poor indicators can be viewed here. 
 
Recent “Data in Action” Posts
In 2012, nearly one in three Latino full-time workers, ages 25 to 64, earned below 200 percent of poverty – up from 27 percent in 1990 and compared with 9 percent for their White counterparts. Wondering what other trends the new Equity Atlas indicators reveal? Several new analyses have been posted to Data in Action:
 
 
Fairfax County Equity Resolution
In 2015, community leaders working inside and outside of government in Fairfax County, Virginia, partnered with the National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and PERE to produce an equitable growth profile of the county. Through a newly adopted policy, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has made its commitment to equity official when it voted to develop a racial and social equity policy to assess all county-wide decisions through an equity lens.
 
Are you using Equity Atlas data in your work? Let us know.
 
Thank you!
 
The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)
 

Fairfax County Adopts “One Fairfax” Resolution, Committing to Equitable Growth

Fairfax County, Virginia is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation — but not all of its residents have been able to participate and share in its prosperity. In 2015, as part of a larger effort to address structural barriers to inclusion, community leaders working inside and outside of government partnered with the National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and PERE to produce an equitable growth profile of the county. That report highlighted how communities of color are driving the county’s rapid population growth and now represent 45 percent of its population, yet racial inequities persist across a multitude of indicators.

Equipped with the facts, local leaders worked to educate decisionmakers and build broad support for an equity approach. In 2015, the Board of Supervisors acknowledged equity as a key principle in its Strategic Plan to Facilitate Economic Success, and a core group of equity leaders proposed a countywide “One Fairfax” resolution, asking county and school district leaders to develop and implement a data-driven racial and social equity policy. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted the resolution last week, making its commitment to equity official; the school board is expected to vote on “One Fairfax” before the end of the month. 

Latinos See the Highest Increases and Levels of Working Poverty in Many Regions

 

As Latinos drive population growth and change in America, their ability to thrive is increasingly critical to the health of our economies locally and nationally. Yet, new data on working poverty in the National Equity Atlas reveals the extent to which many Latinos are working full-time yet still struggling economically. In 2012, nearly one in three Latino full-time workers, ages 25 to 64, earned below 200 percent of poverty – up from 27 percent in 1990 and compared with 9 percent for their White counterparts.

This post takes a closer look at Latino working poverty across the nation’s largest 150 metropolitan regions. Working poverty describes full-time workers with a family income below 200 percent of poverty, and the rates of working poverty in this post reflect the working poor as a share of full-time workers ages 25 through 64. While poverty is defined at the family level, based on combined income from all family members, in this post we make reference to individual earnings for simplicity. Given that an individual’s family income must be as high or higher than their personal earnings, the rates of working poverty reported here understate the rates that would be found if only an individual’s earnings were considered.

Latino Working Poverty High and Increasing in Many Regions

Not only do many regions have high rates of Latino working poor, conditions are getting worse over time. This is shown by the scatter plot below, which plots the largest 150 regions by the share of Latino full-time workers who earn below 200 percent of poverty in 2012 and the percent increase in Latino working poverty between 2000 and 2012. The farther to the right, the greater the share of Latino working poverty in 2012. The higher up on the chart, the greater the percent increase in Latino working poverty between 2000 and 2012. As illustrated by the number of metros in the upper-right quadrant, there appears to be a positive relationship: the regions with higher rates of working poverty among Latinos also saw a sharp growth in Latino working poverty.

Regions in Tennessee and North Carolina have the highest rates of Latino working poverty

Mapping the data reveals additional geographic patterns, including the clustering of Latino working poverty in the South and particularly in the states of Tennessee and North Carolina. Of the largest 150 metro regions in the U.S., all nine in North Carolina saw substantial increases in working poverty among Latino full-time workers, ranging from a 23 percent increase in Greensboro to an 82 percent increase in Winston-Salem. Each region also had a Latino working poverty rate greater than the national average except for Fayetteville, which matched it. More than half of Latino full-time workers in Greensboro, Durham, Hickory, and Winston-Salem earned less than 200 percent of poverty.

Similarly, the four regions in Tennessee included in the Atlas saw higher than average increases in the overall rates of Latino working poverty. One in two Latino full-time workers in Chattanooga earned less than 200 percent of poverty in 2012, up from 28 percent in 2000. Over the same time period, the Latino population grew significantly faster than any other group in the region.

Tennessee and North Carolina are among the roughly 15 states that currently ban local governments from adopting their own minimum wage laws. Part of the controversial HB2 law passed earlier this year in North Carolina, which restricts usage of multiple occupancy bathrooms for transgender and gender non-conforming people, also includes state preemptions to local minimum wage increases. The current minimum wage in Tennessee and North Carolina is the same as the federal: $7.25 an hour. The MIT Living Wage Calculator, however, estimates that a living wage for a family of four ranges from $13 to $22 an hour in Tennessee and from $14 to $23 an hour in North Carolina. The state preemption laws also prevent localities from allowing workers to earn paid sick leave.

This is a growing and alarming trend: eight states have considered restrictions on local minimum wage increases this year and the story is often similar. When states fail to pass increases in minimum wages in step with increases in cost of living and inflation, some jurisdictions take matters into their own hands by increasing local minimum wages. State legislatures—especially those led by Republicans—push back by adopting laws preventing local action. Raising wages would be especially beneficial to workers of color. In North Carolina, for example, 11 percent of White full-time workers earn less than 200 percent of poverty compared with nearly half of Latino full-time workers. Even more striking, 12 percent of Latino full-time workers earn less than 100 percent of poverty.

Addressing working poverty is a moral and economic imperative. If Latinos, the fastest growing group in many regions, are unable to participate, prosper, and reach their full potential, the impacts will go far beyond the Latino population. To learn more about working poverty in your city, region, or state, and learn about policies that lift the wages of workers, explore the new working poor indicator.

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